The Stalker
by Neuriel
Summary: It had taken three weeks to reach its destination, but the trip had been worthwhile. Gen.


Title: The Stalker  
By: qwirky  
Rating: PG  
Pairings: None  
Category: Humor  
Disclaimers: Neither _Stargate Atlantis_ nor any of its characters belongs to me.  
Notes: For Kyrdwyn (and Rose Wilde Irish and Pooh).

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It had taken three weeks to reach its destination, but the trip had been worthwhile.

Soon it would find _him_, and everything would fall into place.

The trip was rather uneventful, truth be told. It had spent most of its time in the freezer, feeding off of the frozen meat it had discovered in the same room. No one had seen it or sensed it, and so it had been left unbothered, content to dream about the one with dark, spiky hair.

It had first noticed him one year ago. It had been awakened by something unusual - a strange, glowing octopus flying in the air, trying to kill it. The octopus, fortunately, had not succeeded, but upon seeing the spiky-haired one, it had been love at first sight. It realized then that it must follow him to the ends of the earth. Unfortunately, getting to that end proved problematic. It had hidden itself in shipments to where the spiky-haired one was going but, sadly, he was already gone by the time it arrived.

Living in the "SGC," as the tall ones called the place, it had bided its time, hoping that the spiky-haired one would return. Anyway, it had no where else to go. Several times, it thought it would be returned home, but the tall ones either ignored it or looked at it in bewilderment before saying something like, "Dr. Andrews is at it again." Perhaps others like it had been there before, but it had not seen or sensed any there presently. It was quite glad of that - the spiky-haired one belonged to it, and it would fight anyone to the death for possession!

Then, not four weeks earlier, it had been napping in the freezer when something strange awoke it. Tentatively, it stuck its head out and wandered the hallways towards the great circle. And there, to its delight, was the spiky-haired one! It almost darted forward, but there were too many tall ones about. Also, the spiky-haired one looked tired, solemn. Perhaps now was not the time to approach its beloved - in his condition, he might send it away back home. No, that would not do. Playing it safe was best.

So it watched from a distance, this time making sure to accompany the spiky-haired one on the strange moving vehicle. There, it lived in the freezer until it arrived in the new place, which it learned was called "Atlantis."

As soon as all the tall ones were busy, it fled from its place, out to freedom!

Atlantis was, unfortunately, rather warm, though it was delighted that there was so much water, which it could tell was the appropriate temperature. Love, however, knew no bounds - or climate, apparently - and so it would make-do near its beloved.

It was here, while looking out the window, that it heard someone say, "Is that a penguin?"

It turned towards the voice.

A curly-haired female - it recognized her from before, as a friend to the spiky-haired one - looked at it blankly. "It _is_ a penguin. John," she said, turning to the spiky-haired one, who was coming up the steps, "what's a penguin doing here?"

It honked excitedly. John! That was his name!

'John' stared at it in confusion. "I dunno. It must have come from the Daedalus. Maybe it followed us?"

"Followed us from _where_?" the curly-haired one said. "There aren't any penguins at the SGC."

"Um... Antarctica, I guess."

"That's ridiculous," the female said. "The last time we were in Antarctica was a year ago."

"Maybe it escaped from the Colorado Springs zoo," John suggested.

It could see John realize something.

"Hey... this explains where all the frozen fish went," John said.

The female was not amused. "We can't keep a penguin here, John. We'll have to send it back."

Distressed, it honked wildly and dove for John's leg, clinging as well as it could.

"It seems to like me. Or else it just doesn't want to leave." John lifted it up into his arms. It almost swooned. They were finally touching! "It's kind of cute, don't you think?"

"Penguins aren't pets, John."

"C'mon, Elizabeth, it can be our mascot."

"The Atlantis _Penguins_?" 'Elizabeth' said.

"It lived for at least three weeks on the Daedalus. It's obviously a tough survivor."

It honked in agreement. Frozen fish was no substitute for the fresh stuff.

"Hey!" another male tall one approached. "What the hell's a penguin doing here?"

"We're trying to find out," John answered.

"Huh." The tall one eyed it carefully, with some disdain. It disliked him instantly. "Probably followed you from Antarctica," he said sagely.

"What?"

"It's the Aqua Velva - smells like fish."

"Shut up, McKay."

"Boys," Elizabeth said. She gazed at it for a moment, seemingly weighing her options. "I suppose it can't be helped. It'll have to stay here, at least until we figure out what's going on."

John grinned.

"That doesn't mean we're keeping it permanently," Elizabeth said, sounding unconvincing.

Smirking, John looked down at it. It stared back up at him adoringly. "I'll name you... Kyrd," John said.

"Kyrd?" 'McKay' said.

The spiky-haired one shrugged. "It just fits."

And that was how Kyrd the Penguin ended up in Atlantis with its beloved John Sheppard and became the mascot of the city, fed fresh (and frozen) fish by all.

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end 


End file.
